A stake in our company and a somewhat close relationship with a famous person helped us nab a celebrity endorsement without shelling out lots of money.
That's how we got golf pro David Duval to endorse our premium beef jerky. We offered him the cash equivalent of a celebrity endorsement in company equity. My brother is David's caddy so that helped, but offering him a piece of the company is why he agreed to promote our product.
Selling a small stake in your company is a big hurdle for an entrepreneur to overcome. And you have to make sure that it's an absolute perfect fit, because you're stuck with them as a partner. But as one of the world's greatest golfers, David adds stature to our company. And it doesn't hurt that he spends hours on the golf course getting friendly with large retailers and corporate decision-makers.
The recession hurt Rosana Santos Calambichis's frozen-food business. The company recovered and recently Big Chef made its first million in revenues.
